Airbnb Home Sharing Activity Report: Los Angeles

Airbnb is a people-to-people platform—of the people, by the people and for the people—that was created during the Great Recession to help people around the world use what is typically their greatest expense, their home, to generate supplemental income.

To date, more than 80 million guests have spent the night in listings spread across more than 34,000 cities and there will be more people home sharing tomorrow than there are today. We want to enhance our relationships with these cities. To achieve that goal, in November 2015 we released the Community Compact, which outlines a series of commitments we are making to be good partners with cities, including a commitment to share data – cities need information to make good decisions.

Today, we are releasing new information about home sharing in Los Angeles. This report is based on Airbnb internal data and a survey of Los Angeles hosts and guests conducted in February, 2016.

Key Findings in Los Angeles:

In 2015, the Airbnb community generated more than $670 million in economic activity and an estimated $920 million in economic impact in the city of Los Angeles.

In 2015, the typical host in Los Angeles earned $7,000 from hosting on Airbnb.

84% of Airbnb hosts in Los Angeles are sharing their permanent home, and the typical Airbnb listing in Los Angeles is rented 62 nights per year.

13% of hosts said that their income from hosting has prevented them from losing their home to foreclosure. And another 10% of hosts said that their income from hosting has saved them from losing their home to eviction.

At that rate, nearly 3,000 Los Angeles hosts have avoided foreclosure or eviction and kept their home due to the supplemental income they make from hosting on Airbnb.

Over 560,000 total guests stayed with Airbnb hosts in Los Angeles in 2015.

Economic Impact for Hosts and the City of L.A.

In 2015, the Airbnb community generated more than $670 million in economic activity and an estimated $920 million in economic impact in the city of Los Angeles. This is significant income for the city, and it is being spread to local businesses and across many parts of the city that don’t typically see as much tourism activity such as .

Airbnb expands the economic pie for residents of Los Angeles. In 2015, the typical Airbnb host in Los Angeles earned $7,000 from hosting. This income is an economic lifeline for everyday people in L.A. that are looking to make ends meet.

This income can also be crucial to helping L.A. residents afford to stay in their home. In a survey of Airbnb hosts in Los Angeles, 13% said that their income from hosting has prevented them from losing their home to foreclosure. And another 10% of hosts said that their income from hosting has saved them from losing their home to eviction. At that rate, nearly 3,000 Los Angeles hosts have avoided foreclosure or eviction and kept their home due to the supplemental income they make from hosting on Airbnb.

Percentage of LA hosts

Approximate number of hosts who hosted last year in LA this represents

Income from hosting on Airbnb has prevented me from losing my home to foreclosure

13%

1608

Income from hosting on Airbnb has prevented me from losing my home to eviction

10%

1237

Geography and Frequency of Hosting in Los Angeles

Airbnb hosts in Los Angeles are spread across the city and welcoming guests who are exploring neighborhoods that haven’t typically benefitted from tourism in the past, and the benefits of hosting are flowing to historically underserved communities. Two-thirds of guests to Los Angeles stayed outside of the traditional hotel districts, spending their accommodation dollars and some of their daytime travel budgets in neighborhoods outside of the traditional visitor zones. Two-thirds of host earnings were earned outside of the traditional hotel districts. 1

The overwhelming majority of these Airbnb hosts are sharing space in their primary residence. In Los Angeles, 84% of Airbnb hosts in 2015 were renting out their primary residence.

And these hosts are welcoming travelers to L.A. on an occasional basis. The typical listing in L.A. in 2015 was rented for 62 nights, or just over 5 nights per month. Listings in Los Angeles hosted an average of 31 guests per listing over the course of 2015.

Percentage of hosts who rent out their primary residence:

84%

Number of nights the typical Los Angeles listing was rented in 2015:

62 nights

Number of total guests the typical Los Angeles listing hosted over the course of 2015:

31 guests

The Airbnb Guest Community

In 2015, over 560,000 total guests stayed with Airbnb hosts in Los Angeles. The average number of guests per trip to L.A. in 2015 was 2.2, and the average length of stay was 4.5 days.

Total Airbnb guests to LA in 2015

560,000 total guests

Average number of guests per trip

2.2 guests

Average length of stay

4.5 days

We believe that home sharing can and should be regulated, but needs to be done in a way that allows middle class families to continue sharing their homes and provide a significant economic boost to the City of Angels.

The traditional hotel district is defined as the following neighborhood council areas, where the majority of hotel rooms are located in the City of Los Angeles: Downtown Los Angeles, NC Westchester/Playa del Rey, Hollywood Hills West NC, Woodland Hills-Warner Center NC, Westside NC, Mid City West CC, Central Hollywood NC, Wiltshire Center – Koreatown NC.